The present invention relates to the field of hats, and in particular, to the field of convertible visor/caps with a folding crown.
Convertible sunvisor/caps have been developed in the past, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,556,993 and 4,741,053. Each of these caps have a foldable material that can be extended over the crown. The material can be extended from a folded position, in which the cap is adapted as a sunvisor, and an extended position, in which the cap is adapted as a cap. There were several problems associated with these designs. For example, the foldable material had to be gathered at opposite sides of the cap. Also, the material had no additional supports to form the shape of the crown, other than the support band around the back side, wherein the user""s head was needed to support the crown.
The McKee et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 1,665,750, was also directed to a convertible visor/cap, wherein an auxiliary head cover attachment was provided that could be extended from a folded position to form a visor, back over the head to form a cap. While this patent disclosed a convertible visor/cap, the same problems existed, i.e., no crown supports were provided.
The present invention relates to a convertible visor/cap, i.e., which can be converted from a cap to a visor, and vice verse, having a fixed frontal crown portion and a folding crown membrane supported by a plurality of hinged support members. The visor/cap preferably has a forwardly extending bill, from which the frontal crown portion extends upward, and a head band portion extending rearwardly therefrom. Two hinges are preferably provided on the sides of the head band portion adjacent the frontal crown portion for pivotally supporting the support members. The hinges allow the support members to be pivoted between a first extended position, where the membrane covers the head (i.e., to form a cap), and a second folded position, where the membrane is folded up behind the frontal crown portion and substantially hidden from view (i.e., to form a visor).
The support members are preferably adapted to be provided in different lengths, such that they can be folded up over each other, which allows the membrane to be easily folded and unfolded when necessary. In the preferred embodiment, there are preferably three support members which allow the membrane to be moved between the first and second positions. The rearward-most support member is preferably adjustable in length and adapted such that it can overlap the head band portion (in the first position). One or more snaps can be provided to enable the rearward-most support member to be secured to the head band portion in the first position. The membrane is preferably secured to all three support members, with the back edge of the membrane being secured to the rearward-most support member, and the front edge of the membrane being secured to the frontal crown portion, wherein the membrane in between is secured to the forward-most and middle support members.
In the preferred embodiment, the middle support member is longer than the forward-most support member so that the forward-most support member can be folded under the middle support member when the membrane is folded in the second position, i.e., to form a visor. In such case, the rearward-most support member is also preferably adapted to be adjusted so that it is short enough to be folded under the forward-most support member, such that the rearward-most support member can be folded up under both the middle and forward-most support members. In this respect, the rearward-most support member is preferably adjustable such that it can be extended or contracted as needed. This structure advantageously allows the support members to be easily folded and unfolded, while providing the proper balance appearance-wise.
The head band portion preferably extends rearward from the frontal crown portion and has an adjustable strap and rear section that extends around the back. The strap and rear section can be made adjustable, such as by Velcro(trademark), so that the visor/cap can be fitted onto different size heads.